Goals are the most important thing to a striker, Firmino has received plenty of criticism and questioning over whether he should still play due to his shortage of goals. Our striker is one of if not the only player that we can be sure is top 6 quality, you cant argue with his goalscoring rate. It has happened to Rhodes and Dack in the past, consistent goalscoring becomes under appreciated after a while.

Deeney's all round game is text book, his hold up play is brilliant. Comparitively his question mark is goals which is the most important thing for a striker. Pukki is a very intelligent player whose football brain is above Armstrongs but obviously he lacks the pace. He has had injuries this season otherwise he might be troubling the top scorers and is for me the best striker in the league probably. The fact that Armstrong is in the conversation shows how lucky we are to have him though.

Obvious physicality questions aside, he doesnt seem to have the speed of thought required, far too ponderous.

The main reason why people seem to question the managers future is because for all of the aspirations of top 6, we never break into it. Last night we played dreadfully but at the end of the day we did indeed win, yet there is still 4 points and 5 teams between us and 6th. Until we get into that top 6, which is ultimately the next step, then those question marks are valid. Nonsensical theories about correlations between wanting a managerial change and being those who only went v Oxford are just wind up material, whereas more constructive stats about current form etc are ultimately rendered irrelevant until the form gets us into the 6, which is the only way to counteract that primary reason for a change.

The main stats that matter are that he has 15 goals at a rate of 0.88 a game. According to BBC, he has had 61 shots so has a conversion rate of 25%. A very high rate (69%) hit the target too. If he needs to take a few more shots to get such a goal tally, so be it. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/championship/top-scorers

He isnt perfect, his decision making isnt always right, I do question whether he could do it at a higher level and he had hit a dry spell (of 3 games which is as bad as it gets in the last 12 months for him!) but I suspect we might only realise once he leaves how valuable a prolific striker is.

Buckley is obviously physically well off but it isnt just that, he doesnt appreciate the urgency of a game and often spends far too long on the ball. Fair summary of the performance but Armstrong doesnt "flatter to deceive," he has scored 27 goals this year! The best RB in the league is Max Aarons but we certainly do need Nyambe to stay.

Kaminski Nyambe Lenihan Ayala Douglas Holtby Trybull Downing Elliott Armstrong Dolan Left back a major worry, Douglas has been crap, Bell is no better. They have numerous absentees including their main attacking threat and the likes of Allen and Clucas. Its a game we should be looking to win.

Goal scorers tend to be quite selfish, it is in their nature and part of the reason why they score so many. Im sure we have all heard stories of strikers like Van Nistelrooy after a win in which he has not scored in a mood. Of course there are times when he should pass and warrants criticism for making the wrong choices eg v Bristol City but ultimately if you took that single mindedness out of his game he wouldnt score goals at the rate that he does.

I agree that Douglas has been a massive dissapointment for us. We have hopefully put it down to rust but if you look at it, he is 31 on the back of not much football and plenty of injuries, maybe it is catching up with him. He was outstanding for Wolves but he wasnt playing as a left back for them and he was out more than in for Leeds who were also far better tactically than we are under Bielsa. So yes he has had 2 promotions, one of which was when he was in his prime and playing a totally different position and the other he was a bit part player. I just feel that Bell's incompetence has perhaps been somewhat forgotten. I have seen him have games as bad or even worse in a Rovers shirt many times. When he came on, he was beaten really easily a couple of times (hes not a good one on one defender) and technically he is far less secure than Douglas, so often the ball will come to him and he will take ages to get it under control or fail to keep the ball in play/possession. Based on both players performances in a Rovers shirt so far I dont think there is a good left back between them and it looks by far our weakest position at the moment. It is a huge worry and a position Mowbray hasnt put much stock in.

You cannot argue with his goal record in 2020, his biggest run without a goal this calendar year is 3 (according to the commentators last night) which is incredible for any team, let alone a mid table one. And he is on 27 goals in 2020. Perceptions of self involvement and greediness are just par for the course for a goalscorer and of course may lead to frustration at times but more often than not his single mindedness as a striker is what gets him his goals. His touch and pass for Elliott was also very good.

I agree that it after 4 years Mowbrays Rovers career is not driven by luck, even if a few of those signings would not be necessarily outright success. He failed to keep us up, did well to get us back and now we are stable in mid table, seemingly having long since hit a wall that Mowbray can not take us past. If he left tomorrow, the job he has done could be considered a good one but it seems unlikely that it can be further improved upon. Your last paragraph and in particular this notion that our fans think we are a Premier League club by rights is total, speculative, desperate nonsense however.

Shocking performance, absolutely dismal against a terrible team but (albeit its a massively diluted feeling watching at home with the backdrop of an empty stadium) like v Millwall im elated with the late winner. Todays performance can not be the catalyst for Mowbrays departure, we won at the end of the day. The fact that we are destined to muddle around mid table with Mowbray in charge is reason however. I have been reluctant to be overly critical of Armstrong in recent games despite poor performances just because of how prolific he has become. I think that is his 27th goal of 2020, and his biggest goal drought remains at 3. Its impossible to escape how impressive that is especially for a mid table side and again he was the saviour tonight. His pass for Elliott was also very selfless, a talent who was quiet tonight but another crucial for a player heavily contributing at such a young age, the pair deserve plenty of praise. The supporting cast is non existent, Gallagher was full of bumbling clumsiness and sloppy touches, offering nothing as is the case more often than not and we have no credible options to improve the front 3 from the bench. If Armstrong hits a genuine dry spell we really are buggered. Defensively we continue to fail to keep clean sheets even against a really limited side, I think the commentators said that is 1 clean sheet in 9. Douglas and Bell did a job share on the inept left back role, the former was all over the place before the latter came on to remind us something that maybe has been forgotten since he has been dropped, quite how bad he is as well, he was possibly worse than Douglas. Nyambe was nowhere near his usual standards and nearly cost us at the end, and the 2 centre backs had little to do but dont give off full confidence. The midfield was key to our struggle, I pin pointed the curious selection of Buckley prior to kick off and he was so far out of his depth again it was untrue. He always wants far too much time and it was again a boy in a mans game. Rothwell continues to flatter to deceive and kept coming far too deep, and Johnson was ineffective. Holtby and Trybull were slight improvements and Downing who I feel has been underused since his return was on a different level when he came on, a classy cameo amidst a shit storm.

Like watching paint dry.

Downing hasnt been given a chance this season, last season he was excellent.

I never said or even suggested that. I would have personally selected Downing because he has been far more effective in a Rovers shirt. Buckley more often than not looks a little out of place, I hope as I say that he takes his chance tonight.

Strange decision to start Buckley. Has thrived a couple of times against teams a few down and a man down, when he got his chance v Forest he was well out of his depth so he needs to perform today. Holtby cant argue about being dropped, but I would have gone for Downing in his place who must wonder why he bothered to come back.

I think the last accounts were published were for the year ended 30 June 2019, so it is likely that following the additions last summer of Gallagher, Holtby, Johnson, Downing and this year of Kaminski, Ayala, Pears and the 3 senior loanees that our wage bill has gone up fairly significantly on those figures.

I do love Roy Keane as a pundit but he certainly does play on his reputation of being a certain type of character.

I dont think that we are in a position whereby we need someone to come in and crack a few heads together, we arent in a position whereby there is a mutiny, there is a damaged team spirit, its just we may need someone to take ue on the next step.

I am not even convinced that it is a case of bottling it when we get near the play offs, I am just not convinced that the current manager is capable (with this squad) of picking up points with the consistency of a top 6 team. The style of play and performance levels is perhaps not as straightforward as it seems, not until it does actually start producing the results that many have understandably taken hope from that it will. I definitely have been entertained at times this season and that of course is exciting, I am not advocating a complete swing and resorting to direct football (not that I am pompous enough to consider that any less acceptable, we just dont have the personnel) but equally I do wonder if similar results with a further strengthened side may show that our current style isnt the most effective in its current form. Maybe the current style leaves us exposed on transition and highlights defensive flaws that still havent been resolved? Maybe there is a naivety against the better teams which is leaving us exposed? The best teams tend to maximise set pieces for example, ours are absolutely dismal with often ineffective routines and a manager who admitted last week that he doesnt get involved and leaves it to his staff. So I am unconvinced if the results will come and indeed maybe even though we think we are "playing better," it is style over substance and deceiving us that we "deserve" and will get more than is actually true.

Your desperation to paint the fanbase as overly negative is impeding on any logic. The consistent argument against Mowbray is that he has has never gotten us into that top 6 reckoning, so now to imply that if we did finally manage to push on that next step, that people would then adapt their criticisms to downplay that is totally without evidence. I may be wrong but you have in the past been critical of the manager so I am unsure why you are now resorting to painting any criticism to be unreasonable, backed up with made up hypothetical arguments.

One of the main problems as well is that the likelihood is that by the time they return, we may have a couple more injuries. The idea of a fully fit squad is a fanciful one at the best of times, never mind in an intense 2 games per week schedule with the added risk of isolation etc. With Dack as well, he missed half of last season and will miss half of this so to compare, its essentially like for like!

I just cant escape this constant and potentially never ending cycle of a few more games, one more season, we continuously wait for something to fall into place whilst consistently lounging in mid table and never making even a temporary push into the top 6. The performances are to me immaterial, ideally we would play beautiful football but its not important compared to results. The players are better yet the results are the same, maybe the style is only further highlighting and exposing our weaknesses? My point is more that he has a better squad than he has done prior in regards to a few signings being notable upgrades yet he is still picking up points at an identical rate. Its not a flippant, sudden call after a couple of losses, it is based on the whole season, and a continuous inability to really put ourselves into a genuine top 6 position. I would argue that using flawed examples of teams that have gone on late surges, referring to those who have questioned the managers future as fickle based on a couple of results and indeed setting stupidly low benchmarks of not being in the bottom 3 as more illogical and indeed hopeful in the face of evidence rather than making a judgement at the here and now. No one has said that we are in the bottom 3, if we was, like I said the calls for Mowbray's head would be unanimous, and its a desperate argument to throw that line in as if it in anyway dismisses the argument some have that Mowbray has taken us as far as he can go. I dont believe in giving specific time frames, managers can be judged mid season as well as at the end of a season. The full squad argument again is not one I can get on board with, simply because EVERY team is suffering from injuries more than ever this season, and I would be amazed if we go into ANY game this season with a fully fit squad, it is an unreasonable expectation and waiting for such an eventuality is unrealistic. When Dack and Travis return, a couple of others will likely be injured, it is just par for the course this season. We played Bristol City last week and lost, they were missing 8 players basically all of whom were first team guaranteed starters. We are about to play 2 teams this month who have just lost their main attacking players. It is a squad game more than ever this year and it is our squad that many have been bigging up this season, the various options and of course the time and resources Mowbray has had to build a whole squad of players of his choosing. Regarding who I would replace Mowbray with, I dont know. I am of the opinion that the manager is critical and certainly wouldnt cut corners financially, so if it meant taking that money from future transfer budgets then so be it. Off the top of my head, someone like Eddie Howe would be a signal of intent but as I said, I cant profess to make a judgement in the same way that I feel 100% in a position to make a judgement on the future of the current manager.

To be fair, its been the case for a while now in which we have been x points, a run of wins, a fully fit squad, a bit of luck, there is always something between us and the top 6 and that something never goes away. The last sentence is a bit confusing. First you acknowledge a discrepancy in the results which is the basis of the reasoning behind those that suggest a change in manager. You then contradict yourself by claiming that we look better than previous seasons when those aforementioned results suggest otherwise. Merely "competing ok" is not justification for a manager to keep his job indefinitely. If Mowbray was to be sacked, it would quite obviously not be a cut and dry case like with Kean/Coyle etc where he is miles out of his depth, hence why people are so split on the issue. It would be because it was deemed that we are not (or at least unlikely to) take that next step and become serious top 6 contenders as we have strived to be since the start of last season. Last season, when we made our signings, the rhetoric was a top 6 challenge, we never came close, the players publically said that they fell short, but a line was drawn under the season. Maybe it was always a bit of a stretch. This season however, we are equally far away, our record is basically identical to last season. (and the year before) How long does this go on before those forlorn hopes of a late surge up the table to get into the top 6 having never done so before become unrealistic? If he was to be sacked, he could be proud of the job that he had done even in spite of being unable to take us on that next step. Your last sentence is a desperate, strawman argument. Is your stance on the matter as long as we arent in the bottom 3, he can keep his job? Is that the only time any manager should be sacked?